Swaps and Scrapbooks

Single layer cards are suppose to be easy and quick. So why I am spending so much time mulling over the design? I have made 13 designs on scrap paper with 7 different stamp sets. I think I have finally settled on one.

I am attempting a sepia look here. I used Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel, Bravo Burgundy, and More Mustard ink, Backwoods stamp set, Big Shot Topnote die mask, and sponging. Single layer cards come out most elegant with realistic nature stamp sets. What do you think?

And I have been killing myself to get 50 cards done for the "WOW" swap.

I have changed the design several times, ordered and cut more cardstock, and even was cutting and folding down at the beach in Canada. Ha! I love stamping outside! So here is it... drum roll please...

This is a squash card.

And this is how it opens. Tutorial can be found here.

And here is the pile of them (with Little Liesl in the background... helping, of course!). Funny how I ended up with the same stamp set for both swaps... hmmm...
Stamps: Backwoods; Paper: Soft Suede, Always Artichoke, More Mustard, Very Vanilla, Dusty Durango DSP; Ink: Soft Suede, Always Artichoke, Dusty Durango; Accessories: Soft Suede ribbon, sponges, Texture Plates Kit #4, Big Shot.

And we had scrapbook camp last night. Here are the couple pages we made; they came out really cute!

Stamp set: Nursery Necessities

Stamp set: Choo Choo plus coordinating Right on Track wheel. The letters were made with the Big Shot and Go-Go Boots alphabet.

Whew! That was a lot to show. Thanks for stopping by!

Some Workshop Projects

I thought I would share the projects we did at a workshop on Saturday.

This card uses Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Baroque Motifs, and Beautiful Butterflies Big Shot die.

We sponged this card with Dusty Durango, More Mustard, and Always Artichoke. The stamp set is Pocket Silhouettes.

And my camera was on the fritz, so I took this picture with my phone (and technologically challenged to figure out how to get it to my computer!). I demo'd heat embossing with Versamark and white embossing powder, and then gave this card to the hostess. It uses Crushed Curry, Melon Mambo, Raspberry Lemonade Designer Series Paper, and Upsy Daisy stamp set.

Sorry for the picture (lack-of) quality. This is another gift for the hostess - I used my Big Shot to die-cut her first initial into contact paper, and then glass etched this candy jar. Messy process, but comes out really neat! Thanks for looking!

Final Deal of the Week

Heart to Heart punch, regularly $15.95, available for $10.99 through July 31, 11:50 pm MT.

Big Shot Club #2 Projects

Here are the Big Shot projects we did last month at the 2nd installment of the Big Shot club. The theme of this class was "texture".

Here we used the Beautiful Butterfly die and Simple Flower embosslit. The embosslits cut and dry emboss at the same time.

You may recognize this card. This uses the Texturz Background #1 to create the dry embossed background. I love these Texturz plates - you get six different backgrounds with one set.

And this card uses the Manhattan Flower embossing folder. We actually inked up the embossing folder with a brayer and then ran the cardstock through the Big Shot. This both inked and dry embossed the cardstock, and then we trimmed and mounted.

If you are interested in a Big Shot, and the instruction that would come with it, please contact me. There are so many things you can do with the Big Shot, and I have a couple more installments to show you soon! The next Big Shot club focuses on die-cutting "alternate materials". Thanks for stopping by!

Another Swap Bites the Dust...

I have been working on my punch class page swaps. These are 6 x 6" pages showing how to make various creatures, critters, or objects with punches and cardstock. I made 20 + 1 of each of these, so I will get 20 back. This should make a really nice album of punchy critters we can play with! Can't wait to share with you what I get back in this swap!

Easter basket

Tractor

Deal of the Week

Styled Vanilla Hodgepodge Hardware, regularly $29.95, available for $18.99 through July 27, 11:50 am ET.

Tip: Use craft ink and clear embossing powder to custom color your Vanilla Hodgepodge Hardware!

Working on Swaps

Three swaps down, four to go (or five if I join that 3D swap - oh boy!). I already showed you the Autumn Days card I made for GWTW Junkie's convention swap. I've changed the design of my Wow Swap, so now I have to wait for more supplies to come in.

Here is the chaos of my desk while I made 51 of these for the SCS Dinner Swap. Stamps: Fifth Avenue Floral, Elegant Thank You; Colors: Whisper White, Basic Gray, Not Quite Navy, Old Olive, Bella Bleu DSP; Accessories: Basic Gray taffeta, Beautiful Butterflies Big Shot die, punches.

This is the stamp I decided not to use for the Wow Swap, so I had to use it for my Monthly 1 Swap instead. I struggled for quite a while with the color scheme - have to use current colors. What colors look old and muted?? I think I finally got it. This would be a great stamp for the cover of a travel notebook or scrapbook! Stamps: Classic Sketches; Colors: Kraft, Bordering Blue, Mellow Moss, Naturals White, Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, Bella Bleu DSP; Accessories: Mellow Moss DSP, Sponges, Aquapainter, Topnote Big Shot die, Little Leaves die.

Here's my attempt at a VSN challenge from this past Friday. This is the salted background technique on glossy white paper. Didn't quite turn out like I had imagined, but actually the watercoloring looks great! This would be a great background technique for sea images (boats, sea shells, palm trees, lighthouse) or spooky house on a hill for Halloween.

Ok, one more card... I made this one for a VSN challenge back in February, and I was holding on to it for a Big Shot class. Well, didn't end up using it, so why not share it here? This uses an acetate window.

Here is the side view. All the details for this one is in my SCS gallery.

Thanks for stopping by!

Making Room for New Stamps

I need to make room for items from the new catalog, so the following are 50% or more off!

- God is Love (catalog) - $10
- Happiness Always (L2 hostess) - $12
- Peace to the World (catalog) - $10
- Greetings Galore (catalog) - $10
- Bitty Basics (L1 hostess) - $9
- Merci (SAB) - $9
- Yummy (SAB) - $9
- Botanical Blooms (SAB) - $9
- Birthday Whimsy (SAB) - $9
- I have a few punches from So Many Scallops and Polka Dot Punches (SAB) for $2.50 each or get one free with a $15.95 punch order.

Open House Projects

Here are the projects we did tonight. If you missed it, you missed some fun (and Chris's excellent cookies)!

Here is another autumn card using Autumn Days, Raspberry Lemonade DSP, Dusty Durango, and Crushed Curry. This uses the spritzer tool and was inspired by a couple cards from Splitcoast.

Another card inspired by Splitcoast, using Animal Stories and Teeny Tiny Wishes.

This is a pop-up card - really easy using a Word window punch. My daughter loves this "peek" card.

Tutorial for this pop-up found here.

Deal of the Week

Square Fire rhinestone brads, regularly $10.99, available for $6.99 through July 20, 9:50 am MT.

Some More New Catty Samples

Monday mornings are always so lame - recovering from racing the day before... I was nervous about the race yesterday, because it was a fast course, and that's not my strength. I was in 2nd most of the race, and I feel bad, because I passed the racer in front of me on one of the last hills (climbing IS one of my strengths). But, hey, that's racing. So I got 1st, and I am in good standings right now in the series. Happy! :D

Now, on to more samples...

This is a CASE off Splitcoaststampers. New items here - In Color Crushed Curry and Autumn Days stamp set. The pheasant was stamped using the 'rock 'n roll' technique.

Another CASE off Splitcoast. I really like this one - elegant. This uses Soft Suede and Autumn Days.

This card is for the new catty/convention swap I finished up right before vacation. So this baby is my own design. I timed myself while making these. After I had it designed, I was able to average 3 cards per hour. That seems kinda slow. How am I ever going to get through 150 swaps for convention at this rate??? And convention is a bit more than 3 weeks away. Ok... don't stress... breath deep...

The background was sponged, and I used the spritzer for the small spots to 'age' the main image a bit. We will use the spritzer tomorrow at the Open House. Stamps: Autumn Days, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Sanded BG; Paper: Soft Suede, Dusty Durango, Crushed Curry, Rich Razzleberry, Very Vanilla; Ink: Soft Suede, Dusty Durango, Crushed Curry, Rich Razzleberry, Chocolate Chip marker; Accessories: Rich Razzleberry ribbon, Word window punch, Circle punch, Scallop edge punch, Sponges, Chocolate Chip corduroy button, Linen thread, Spritzer, Big Shot, Texturz Background #1.

Thanks for stopping by!

Couple of (Late) Sneak Peek and In Color Cards

Well, I think I know what projects we will do for the Open House on Tuesday, which means I can finally post some samples I made.

This is one of the first cards I made playing with the In Colors - Rich Razzleberry, Soft Suede, and Old Olive. Not sure these are the right colors for this stamp set (Animal Stories), but fun to play. SU came out with a cool sentiment set called Teeny Tiny Wishes, which is great because a lot of different sentiments fit in the punches we already have.

This card is a 'mostly' CASE of a sample in the new catalog. It uses the Autumn Days stamp set, Dusty Durango, Chocolate Chip, Rich Razzleberry ribbon, and Razzleberry Lemonade DSP. This card also uses the 'stamping with bleach' technique.

More samples to come...

Back from Vacation

Well, the well-needed respite is over. :( We were hanging out and relaxing at the family cabin in Quebec, 6.5 hours straight north of Toronto. It is a hard drive to get there, especially on the little one. But once there - the beach, the boating, the fishing, hiking, reading, chasing butterflies and dragonflies, just having time to play with your child. Very nice! And Canadian treats you can't get back at home - pickle-flavored chips, maple cookies, and boy can they do ice cream!

We had a couple exciting moments, when our boat got stuck in forward as we were heading straight to shore (and rocks!). Luckily, no one hurt. And we almost hit a bear that darted out in front of the car on the way home. We did make it home safely.

Now back to stamping - the next three weeks I have an event every week, and then the beginning of August is Stampin' Up! convention in Salt Lake City. I will be dragging the husband out there at the close of convention for a little bit of sight-seeing. I hope to have some good tricks, tips, and stories to share with you all! Reminder - club sign-up is underway, starting up in August. Contact me if you are interested.

Swimming

Bonfire and cookout at the beach


Making a birthday cake for Grandpa

And eating frosting

Playing in the garden

And playing with Opa

50 mosquitoes killed in the cabin one evening (the ugly truth of the beautiful north!)

And the nighttime skies are just beautiful!